A gun thought to have killed a 39-year-old Dell Rapids man in 2016 likely wasn't more than two feet away from its target, a forensic firearms expert testified at the accused shooter's trial Thursday.

Alex Daniel Wittenberg, 24, faces charges of second-degree murder and first- and second-degree manslaughter for the November 2016 death of 39-year-old Jonathan Puttmann. Wittenberg was arrested after telling officers he fired the gun at Puttmann in the middle of a Dell Rapids street during a fight between the two men.

The trial's fourth day focused mainly on the gun used in the shooting: where it was in relation to the wound, how far it was from Puttmann when it fired, whether it functioned properly when it fired and more.

A state firearms examiner estimated that the muzzle of the gun was between 6 and 24 inches from the entrance wound just behind Puttmann's left ear. County coroner Kenneth Snell testified Wednesday that the bullet entered just behind the ear and exited just behind that wound, meaning Puttmann would have been facing the gun.

Wittenberg, who will turn 25 in February, wore a light green button-up shirt and jotted down notes as Deputy State's Attorney Lori Ehlers questioned the state firearm examiner about the pattern bullets left on test material and the gun's safety mechanisms.

CLOSE

Authorities provide more details on a shooting in Dell Rapids that left a man dead Tuesday night.

Wittenberg's public defenders attempted to get the second-degree murder charge dropped, saying the state hadn't provided enough evidence to prove Wittenberg was "of a depraved mind" or "without regard for human life."

The defense brought forward one witness Thursday, a detective with the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office who downloaded data from Jonathan Puttmann's phone. Wittenberg's number in Puttmann's phone was under an obscene contact name, the detective testified.

The state brought forward Puttmann's daughter and wife as witnesses the first two days of trial, Monday and Tuesday. Puttmann's daughter, who was 11 at the time of the shooting, said she told her dad not to hurt anyone as he approached Wittenberg before the two fought. As the two men were fighting, wife Jaime Puttmann begged Jonathan Puttmann to stop punching Wittenberg, she testified Tuesday.